Indy Civic Hack opens public sector data from IPS, FSSA and the city to developers

Starting next Tuesday at a Data Release Event at Old City Hall, software developers from the Greater Indianapolis area will get a chance to look under the “data hood” of government agencies and public sector organizations on a quest to #HackforChange and do some good as part of the Indy Civic Hack.

The hackathon itself — a 12-hour event where development teams create software based on challenges from Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), Indiana Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA), and the City of Indianapolis — will take place June 6, at Eleven Fifty Academy (aka. Scott Jones’ house). Teams do all the work on site during the Hackathon, but they get access to the data sets they will be working with a couple weeks early (May 19) so that they can get familiar with the assets available to them.

June 6th is the perfect day for Indy Civic Hack because it’s also Code for America’s National Day of Civic Hacking! There’s no better way of celebrating than joining a couple hundred like-minded hackers at Eleven Fifty Academy to work together to solve some problems and make improvements right here in your own community.

This is the second hackathon brought to you by the Indy Chamber and TechPoint. The first one was the Indiana vs. Texas Civic Hackathon (#hackINvTX Challenge), which was won by Hoosiers John & Isaiah Schevola — or Team Red Alert, as they called themselves for the challenge designed by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Indy Civic Hack will highlight the best and brightest technological minds of Indiana, including teams of Xterns who are participating in TechPoint’s “summer in the city” internship experience.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are to be officially kicking off our Xtern summer experience with Indy Civic Hack next week (May 19) at Old City Hall for the Data Release and then at Eleven Fifty Academy on June 6th,” Said Sally Reasoner, talent program lead with TechPoint. “These Hackathon events are so full of energy from the creative class builders who come out to hack for good that it’s infectious. You really get a feeling for how bright the future of Indy could be if we show them why this city is so great and continue to grow and create more software jobs.”

“Indy Civic Hack is going to be one of the largest public-data hack events Indiana has ever seen,” said Nancy Langdon, senior director of international programs with Indy Chamber, and a driving force behind the Indy Civic Hack events. “I’m convinced that hackathons like Indy Civic Hack and others are a key to discovering and inspiring the next generation workforce for Indy metro growing and thriving companies.”

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Indy Civic Hack Event Details:

May 19th, 2015 – Data Release Event (5:30-6:30pm). This event has three main objectives:

Celebrating John & Isaiah Schevola, the overall winners of the #HackINvTX Challenge!

Releasing the data sets that will be used during the Indy Civic Hack on June 6th.

Facilitating team formation.

June 6th, 2015 – Indy Civic Hack (10am-10pm)

This is the main event! A 12-hour hackathon where 150+ hackers from around the state will come together to #HackforChange. The challenges will be released in the morning and teams will be given the day to get creative and build the best solution. At the end of the day teams will present their products to a group of judges for an opportunity to be a Finalist. Challenges will be from the following agencies/organizations:

Indiana Family & Social Services Administration

Two from the City of Indianapolis

Two from Indianapolis Public Schools

Innovators Challenge – this challenge is for hackers that want to interpret the available agency/IPS data without bounds. Rather than a defined challenge, this will be an open ended opportunity where submissions will be judged, not on functionality and applicability, but on innovation.

Finalists (max 3 teams per challenge) will then be given a week to polish their products. Final submissions will be due on June 15th at 1:00pm via TechPoint.org/Indy-Civic-Hack. More details will be provided to Finalists on event day.